


Early Days

by Little_Miss_Numbers



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic, Aromantic Bruce Wayne, Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 09:03:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10805994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Miss_Numbers/pseuds/Little_Miss_Numbers
Summary: In the early days after taking in Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne begins to think that he may be in over his head.





	Early Days

**Author's Note:**

> Someone gave me the idea of aromantic Bruce Wayne and I liked too much to let it go.
> 
> This story takes place in the days following Bruce Wayne's decision to take in Dick Grayson after the death of his family. Not really connected to any particular canon.

There was a young boy crying upstairs. Bruce could just barely hear the quiet echoing sobs as they carried down the grand staircase and into the large stone parlour. It was a weird feeling for Bruce who was used to sharing the 200 room mansion with nobody but Alfred. One he would have to get used to, he realised.

"What am I doing?" Bruce asked seriously. 

He leaned back against the sofa and watched while Alfred busied himself with a tray and drinks. Bruce was no stranger to challenges. But this wasn't going head-to-head with Gotham city’s most dangerous criminals, or taking down an entire room of board members armed with just a quick wit and a few useful numbers. And Bruce, for the first time in a very long time, was feeling like he had gotten himself in over his head.

"I never thought of myself as someone who'd ever have a family," he admitted. It felt like an admission of guilt. He liked to tell himself it was his lifestyle that was the issue--after all, how could he expect to carry on a healthy relationship with the secrets he keeps. But he knew that it went deeper than that.

It wasn't that he didn't love women. He cared deeply for the ones in his life. It wasn't that he wasn't attracted to women either, he knew that for certain. But there was something that had always been missing. An absence where he felt there should be something. When it came right down it, Bruce knew he simply had no interest in actually engaging in a romantic relationship.

Somehow he'd never really considered the possibility of kids without a wife. Now faced with the prospect, he was surprised to find he didn't hate it.

"Whether planned or not Master Bruce there is a distraught child upstairs who I'm sure could use a friendly face right about now," said Alfred. 

"How did you do it?" asked Bruce. "When, you know..."

"When it was you, Master Bruce?" asked Alfred, finishing the sentence for him. 

"Yeah," Bruce admitted.

Alfred looked at Bruce and his expression softened, just a fraction, but enough that it didn't escape Bruce's notice. "I didn't do much," he said. "A bit of kindness and empathy will go a long way in times such as these."

Bruce looked up the long winding staircase and wondered how he was going to pull this off. He didn't exactly exude either of those traits. 

"And when in doubt, hot cocoa will always make things better," Alfred added handing Bruce a small tray with two steaming mugs. 

Simple yet effective, Bruce thought. Now armed with a plan of attack he felt himself begin to relax. 

He took a step towards the staircase and stopped. "Alfred?" he turned back. "I just..." he caught Alfred's knowing expression and let himself smile. "Thank you."

Alfred patted Bruce's upper arm. "Always, Master Bruce."


End file.
